So you want to try different saddles to see which works best—but you don't know how to ensure that they're even on the bike correctly? Follow these three steps.

Know the Numbers
The first step is to get a professional bike fit. Once you've had a certified specialist dial in your dimensions down to the millimeter, you can use the same measurements to place a new saddle in exactly the right spot every time.

Be Mr. Millimeter
Take two measurements using, ideally, a millimeter tape measure. The first is your saddle height, which you determine by measuring from the center of your bottom bracket, along the seat tube, to the top of your saddle. (For me, this is 77 centimeters.) The second measurement is your saddle's fore/aft position on the seatpost, which you can figure out by measuring from the center of the bolt that connects your stem to the headset to the front tip of your saddle (for me, this is 47.3 centimeters). Now you can place any saddle on your bike with minimal adjustments—and know that you're fit properly.

Ride Before You Buy
With most saddles, you can't buy a new one, ride it for three months, then decide it doesn't work and return it. But you can ask your bike shop if it has samples of saddles you'd like to try. If it doesn't, ask what the policy is for trying out new saddles. Some shops will give you 30 days to test one; if you don't like it, the money you've spent can go toward another saddle the shop sells. If you can't find a shop with such fit-friendly policies, see if you can get a group of like-minded riders together to buy and try different saddles. Think of it as a saddle co-op.